HOUSE AND GARDEN 
February, i 
9i i 
101 
window seat is built 
over a radiator a lay¬ 
er of non-conducting 
asbestos between the 
two is necessary, 
otherwise it would 
be too warm to be 
comfortable. Panels 
of cane or metal 
openwork in the 
front of the seat, 
however, allow free 
passage of the heat. 
This window seat 
arrangement may be 
as elaborate or as 
plain as the furnish¬ 
ings of a room de¬ 
mand. In the big, 
comfortable living- 
room of a country 
house reconstructed 
on modern lines 
there is an enormous window recess, possibly twelve feet wide and 
three feet deep, entirely filled in with a low radiator, over which is 
a window-seat about a foot lower than the casement windows. 
The woodwork is perfectly plain and corresponds with the doors 
and the ceiling beams. There are large cane panels, a thick soft 
cushion and piles of pillows that give unlimited comfort. 
Following out the same idea, the white and gold Louis XIV 
salon in a newly decorated studio apartment has a radiator-win¬ 
dow seat in white and gold that matches the furnishings of the 
room perfectly, even to the pink brocade cushion and the 
delicately painted panels that alternate with the necessary cane 
ones. 
When a window seat over a radiator is not practicable a 
broad shelf is sometimes built over it flush with the window sill, 
but this too must be protected by a layer of asbestos if it is to be 
of real service as a shelf. 
If every bit of available heat must be made use of and there 
is a large projecting window in the room, a small seat built at 
either side with the uncovered radiator filling in the space between 
is not a bad scheme, and while it is a rather poor makeshift for 
an ingle-nook it is at least comfortable and rather attractive. 
One way of making less conspicuous the 
dining-room radiator is by means of this 
sort of a serving table 
Another way of 
disguising the radia¬ 
tor, one that is 
neither so elaborate 
nor expensive as the 
built-in window seat, 
is particularly suit¬ 
able for the ordinary 
n arro w window. 
This consists of a 
wooden case built 
over the radiator, to 
be used as a seat, if 
desired. The ends 
are solid, but the 
front is cut out, giv¬ 
ing the appearance 
of a bench placed 
over the radiator, 
and at either side of 
this opening are 
hung draperies of 
silk or cretonne or 
A projection of the window-sill throws into 
semi-obscurity this dining-room radiator 
any desired material, 
leaving a portion of 
the pipes visible in 
the center. In this 
way the radiator is 
fairly well hidden, 
but its capacity for 
throwing out heat is 
not so seriously in¬ 
terfered with as 
when the front is 
entirely closed over. 
For bedrooms a 
pretty arrangement 
is the broad, rather 
low, radiator with a 
shelf over the top. 
This shelf is covered 
with material to 
match the hangings 
in the room, and 
from a small brass 
rod fastened to the 
lower edge there hang little curtains that reach to the floor. They 
are wide enough to be drawn together in front, hiding the radiator 
entirely, or if desired they may be drawn back in order to give out 
more heat. 
Screens around radiators are used with good effect where 
more elaborate coverings are not practicable. They should of 
course be rather light in weight, with a covering of quite thin 
texture, so that too much heat will not be shut off. A screen 
designed especially for such use is of willow in an openwork pat¬ 
tern that may be stained any desired color and lined with thin 
silk to match. These screens can be had to order in any specified 
height and width, and are usually made with two or three leaves 
so that they can be folded and put aside when necessary. 
A decidedly new invention for the elimination of the radiator 
is a porcelain cover that has yet to prove its usefulness and popu¬ 
larity, although it seems to fill all of the necessary requirements. 
It is made to fit over and around the radiator and is set flat 
against the wall, covering it completely. Filling in most of the space 
in the front and sides are openwork panels with colored decorations 
in the shape of conventionalized flowers between them. A broad 
band of polished brass finishes the bottom, and on either 
side at the top is a 
small brass door 
through which the 
heat may be regu¬ 
lated. 
All sorts of inge¬ 
nious methods are re¬ 
sorted to in meeting 
the radiator problem, 
and even the awk¬ 
ward looking tall 
ones may be at least 
partially hidden. One 
householder w h o 
was obliged to have a 
large radiator in a 
conspicuous place in 
the dining-room had 
a serving stand made, 
just the height and 
width of the radiator, 
(Continued on page 
114) 
A special radiator enamel is now obtainable 
so that the iron can be made to match the 
color of woodwork or wall covering 
Set in a recess under the sill, a radiator 
loses a large part of its efficiency 
